First and 10: Monday afternoon NFL power rankings

November 14, 2011|By Matt Vensel

Because doing a full, 32-team list of power rankings is too much work for a Monday afternoon, I will rank the top 11 teams in the NFL after each exciting football Sunday (that's where the "first and 10" comes in).

Here's the balance of power heading into Monday night's Week 10 finale between the Packers and Vikings:

1. Packers: America will be treated to Aaron Rodgers on ‘MNF’ as the Packers look to remain undefeated.

2. 49ers: San Francisco is the only other team with fewer than two losses after beating the New York Giants.

3. Saints: Drew Brees completed passes to nine different players as the Saints beat the Falcons in overtime.

4. Patriots: The Patriots bounced back from back-to-back losses by thumping Mark Sanchez and the Jets.

5. Bears: I didn’t give Chicago love early in the year. I kind of have to now that the Bears have won four in a row.

6. Texans: Did you know that Houston -- not Green Bay -- leads the NFL with a plus-107 point differential?

7. Steelers: The Steelers are back in first place after holding off Andy Dalton and the Bengals on Sunday.

8. Giants: Is Eli Manning an elite quarterback? I’m not so sure about that, but he is having a great season.

9. Ravens: I almost took them off the list after the Seattle loss, but dropping them seven spots should suffice.

10. Cowboys: Dallas is 5-4 with three winnable games (at Washington, Miami and at Arizona) on the horizon.

11. Falcons: I liked Mike Smith’s decision to go for it, though I was not a fan of how he explained his rationale.

Biggest rise (not on the list): The Denver Tebows, who beat the Chiefs despite completing just two passes.

Biggest fall (not on the list): The Chargers, who have lost four straight with Thursday’s loss to the Raiders.